Router table dilemma !

[charles mathieu]

Hey guys ! Just finished installing my router to my table saw extension and connections to the dust collector. There is one thing that I need to address and it's the router table insert. Right now, the table is so thick that I'm losing cutting depth on the table so I need an insert but my budget is tight.

I'm hesitating between doing a cheapo diy plexiglass insert or buying something like the kreg phenoli one. There is one thing that I don't like about the installation process of the kreg insert, they make you drill the corners with a huge forstner bit to match the radius of the plate, doing this with a handheld drill seems a bit unprecise and could create some ugly gaps, anyone could chime in on that installation process ? I just wonder why they didn't made the radius of their insert the same as a small regular router bit..

The bad thing about the diy way is that I won't have the possibility to use reducer rings to decrease the opening around the bit, I just wonder if that's an issue or not regarding safety ? I also still don't know how I could match the square corners of a plexiglass to fit into the nice rounded corners left by the router cut out.

Thanks for your inputs, much appreciated !

[Lisa Starr]

While I have a lift, rather than a plate, I was faced with the same dilemma of producing the appropriate shape (rounded corners) in my home-built table. My answer was to create a template with the large rounded corners and then route the opening following the template. The lift offered a template you could purchase, but that sounded like a waste of money and my homemade one worked so well I have saved it in case there is a next time.

[Robert Cherry]

I’d steer away from a home made plexiglass plate. Plexiglass is too soft, it will scratch easily then become hard to move work across. It will also sag/flex too much yielding inaccurate cuts.

MLCS has some inexpensive options.

https://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shop.../routacc1.html

i used a Woodpeckers plate for my table and it’s a nice plate. They do offer a CNC cut routing template which made installation a breeze.

[Derek Cohen]

Charles, buy a router table insert plate with a range of insert rings.

The insert plate will offer ease of fitting the router, and will provide a full depth of cut (I really do not know how you envisage changing router bits otherwise - you would need to remove the router each time).

The insert rings are important to reduce any gap between the bit and the side of the table. Too much gap and you run the risk of miscueing an edge, especially a narrow work piece, as well as making it difficult to accurately judge bit height. Get an extra blank insert ring to seal off the table top and protect the router shaft from dust.

If you are wanting to save costs, consider the following:

1. you can get a basic phenolic or anodised aluminium insert plate with insert rings. These can be had quite cheaply. Look at Rockler.

2. A Muscle Chuck extends the bit above the table, if needed.

3. A Router Raizer offers the cheapest above table adjustment method.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Rich Engelhardt]

+1 to what Robert said.

A router plate that doesn't offer enough support is - - IMNSHO -- far more dangerous to use than a table saw without any protection from kickback & having a poor fence.
At least with a nasty table saw & fence, your hands don't have to always be within inches of the "spinning sharp edges".

I bit the bullet and sprung for a real nice Woodpeckers 3/8" Aluminum plate, the template & a full set of insert rings. It wan't cheap -- but- -I'm finding that stuff that works & works well, is a pleasure to use & it makes the stuff you make go together like it should.

[Peter Kuhlman]

There are various ways to solve this. The easiest is to purchase a quality insert plate with replaceable bit surrounds. My favorite is the Incra with the magnetic inserts. Like it much better than my Woodpecker with the twist lock rings. Also the Woodpecker and Incra are available with an MDF template for cutting out the top.
You can purchase quality 3/8” thick materials from McMaster Carr and other sources to make your own router plate. They sell phenolic and high density acrylic type small sheets. You can try Grainger as well.
Really all this depends upon what router bits you have available. You need a template bit of some sort that also cuts a flat bottom and that would be enough. Just take whatever you use for an insert plate, use it as a pattern to make a template out of MDF. Then take that and use it to cut a partial depth inner rim with a template bit and then remove most of the inside with a jigsaw so as to leave the rim for the plate to rest on.

[charles mathieu]

Okay I'll go with a plate then. Now, would you guys recommend the kreg or an aluminium one (incra or woodpecker) ?

[Jim Dwight]

I have had roughly half a dozen router tables and I have not used an insert in any of them. I think they are a waste and introduce a lip in the table I do not want. I have a setup like you describe in the extension table of my old table saw and what I did was to reduce the thickness of the melamine extension table on the bottom in the shape of the router base. Then I screwed an extra base to it so all I do to mount a router is put the bit in it and put the motor in the base. Works great. I reduced the thickness of the extension table to about 3/8. For a small distance like this, it has not affected the flatness of the extension table that I can see or measure.

For my main router table I made inserts to reduce the bit opening but I almost never use them. You need about a 3 inch opening, no more than 3.5 inches for the biggest router bits. That is not a huge opening that makes managing the work difficult. At least it does not to me. I rarely work with tiny pieces of wood and I don't think it is very safe to do so even if you close off the opening. Usually you can shape the wood first and then cut it down to size.

I say forget the insert and just spend a few minutes to reduce the thickness of the extension table to about 3/8 in the shape of your router base.

[Mike Kees]

I second what Peter and Jim say. I have done it both ways an insert in the table cut out just like peter described or mounting a base under a T.S. extension like Jim describes. Presently the only router table setup I have is a base attached to a cast iron extension wing on my jobsite saw. I had it machined with a 2'' hole and one of my P.C. 690 bases fit in between the webs from the bottom, we use this a lot building stairs on jobsites.

[Tim Cardinal]

I'm just finishing cleaning up an old General 350...I have used this simple router plate for 25 years...I picked up a new one for the general..It works very well mount from the underside of the table and is only $60 for the kit from lee valley.. [IMG_0554.jpgIMG_0559.jpgIMG_0561.jpgQUOTE=charles mathieu;2919528]Hey guys ! Just finished installing my router to my table saw extension and connections to the dust collector. There is one thing that I need to address and it's the router table insert. Right now, the table is so thick that I'm losing cutting depth on the table so I need an insert but my budget is tight.

I'm hesitating between doing a cheapo diy plexiglass insert or buying something like the kreg phenoli one. There is one thing that I don't like about the installation process of the kreg insert, they make you drill the corners with a huge forstner bit to match the radius of the plate, doing this with a handheld drill seems a bit unprecise and could create some ugly gaps, anyone could chime in on that installation process ? I just wonder why they didn't made the radius of their insert the same as a small regular router bit..

The bad thing about the diy way is that I won't have the possibility to use reducer rings to decrease the opening around the bit, I just wonder if that's an issue or not regarding safety ? I also still don't know how I could match the square corners of a plexiglass to fit into the nice rounded corners left by the router cut out.

Thanks for your inputs, much appreciated ![/QUOTE]

[andy bessette]

I made my insert plate from aluminum. The router table itself is a re-purposed, cast iron, table saw top. The hole in the insert is large enough to clear most of my most commonly used router bits. For the very largest (like 1" R round-over) I remove the insert plate entirely. In decades of use I've never once desired anything more complex.

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